After Glow by Jayne Castle Page B

responded to my question that there were some calls of a personal nature that were not included on this list?” Emmett asked evenly.
    Perkins cleared his throat. “There was one that I saw no reason to add.”
    Emmett raised his brows. “You made that decision on your own?”
    Perkins drew himself up to his full height. “I have worked for Mr. Wyatt for twenty-three years. I think I know him well enough to say that he would not have wanted me to give the caller’s name to the police.”
    “Because?”
    “Because the call was from an old friend of his who was, I’m sure, in no way connected to the dreadful events.”
    Emmett rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I’ll need the name, Perkins.”
    “Yes, sir, I understand, sir. The caller’s name was Sandra Thornton.”
    Emmett frowned. “She gave you her name when she phoned?”
    “No, sir, but I recognized her voice immediately.”
    “She calls frequently?”
    “She hasn’t called at all in the past two years, but before that Miss Thornton and Mr. Wyatt had a close, extremely personal relationship for a period of several months. During that time, she called Mr. Wyatt’s private number on several occasions.”
    One of Wyatt’s former mistresses, Emmett thought. Great. Talk about complications. He closed the file and stacked his hands on top of it. “Let me get this straight, Perkins. One of Mercer Wyatt’s old lovers who hasn’t been in touch in two years just happens to call the day before Wyatt gets shot and you didn’t think that was worth mentioning to the cops?”
    Perkins looked down his nose at Emmett. “I beg your pardon, sir, but this is Guild business of the most personal nature.”
    Emmett tried not to grind his back teeth. He reminded himself that this was the Cadence Guild, not the new, reformed Resonance Guild. In spite of Wyatt’s avowed intentions to modernize the organization, they still did a lot of things the old-fashioned way in this town. And by long-standing tradition, Guild affairs were guided by one unshakable precept: Guild business stays within the Guild .
    “What’s the story on Sandra Thornton?” Emmett asked, reigning in irritation. “Think she’s still got feelings for Wyatt? Was she angry when he broke off the relationship?”
    Perkins blinked a couple of times in obvious surprise. “My understanding is that Miss Thornton was the one who ended the affair, sir, not Mr. Wyatt.”
    “Did she call it off because Wyatt was seeing other women besides her?”
    “I have no idea why she ended the arrangement, sir.” Perkins cleared his throat. “Mr. Wyatt did not confide that information.”
    He wished Perkins hadn’t used the word arrangement .
    “Did Wyatt say anything after Thornton called? How did he react? Was he annoyed?”
    “Perhaps a bit preoccupied, sir, but that was all.” Perkins hesitated. “He did ask me not to mention the call to Mrs. Wyatt, however.”
    “Why not?”
    “Mr. Wyatt cares deeply for Mrs. Wyatt. I believe he was afraid that she would be hurt or upset if she knew that an old flame had contacted him.”
    Tamara would not have been pleased, that was certain. Emmett considered his options. He would turn the information over to Detective Martinez, but given the exten-sive resources and manpower available to him through the Guild, he could probably find Sandra Thornton a lot sooner than the cops.
    Wyatt’s last coherent words before he went unconscious rang in his ears: It wasn’t politics, it was personal .
    “Get hold of Verwood,” Emmett said. “Tell him I want to see him immediately.”
    Lloyd Verwood was in charge of Guild security here in Cadence. The only thing Emmett knew about him was that Wyatt had appointed him to the position. That was enough. Verwood wouldn’t have gotten the job if he wasn’t good.
    “Yes, sir,” Perkins said. “Shall I—”
    He stopped when the door opened without warning. Tamara Wyatt walked into the office. One look at her tense, drawn expression and